New Democrat group forms in Hoover

Last year’s U.S. Senate election has spurred a group of Democrats to create a new political group in Hoover.

The Hoover Democrat Organization plans to hold its first meeting at the Hoover Public Library at 7 p.m. on Jan. 25.

Ruth Ollie, a retired teacher who is helping start the group, said the election of former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate has brought a renewed energy to the Democratic Party and Democrats want to take advantage of that to organize for future elections.

“Democrats here in Hoover often feel like we’re alone. They are the only Democrat they know,” said Ollie, who moved to Hoover from Florida about 10 years ago.

But during the U.S. Senate campaign, she started noticing other people in her neighborhood — The Preserve — who were supporting Jones, she said. About eight people began meeting at Panera Bread for coffee to discuss the campaign, she said.

Then Doug Hoffman, vice chairman of the Shelby County Democrats, encouraged them to get involved in Jones’ campaign and form an official group made up of Hoover residents.

“Hoover has a demographic favorable to electing Democrats, and 2018 is looking to be a solid year for the election of Democrats,” Ollie said.

Ollie and her newfound Democratic friends worked the polls in Hoover on election day and collected more than 200 emails and addresses of people who were interested in being a part of the organization, she said.

The steering committee is made up of people from The Preserve, Bluff Park and Riverchase, she said. However, the group is still in the infant stage, she said.

The January meeting will be more of a meet-and-greet type meeting, but in the future, the group plans to invite Democratic candidates to speak, Ollie said. The plan is to meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at the Hoover Public Library, she said. Meetings likely will last one to 1 ½ hours, she said.

The mission of the group is to bring together people with diverse backgrounds to support Democratic candidates who are committed to core Democratic issues, she said.

For more information, email hooverstrong1@gmail.com or look for Hoover Democrats on Facebook.